CLEMSON — For 11 years now, Clemson baseball has dominated its rivalry with South Carolina.

The Tigers have won eight of the last 11 series between the two, including a 2-1 victory this past season. In those 11 years, they have posted a 21-11 record against the Gamecocks, including sweeps in 2022, 2024 (2-game sweep) and 2025.

In other words, Clemson had the better baseball program for a while now but is that all about to change.

Outside of football, baseball is the next big thing in the Clemson-Carolina rivalry. Both teams have had a ton of success in the sport. And both teams love to beat the other.

The Tigers have won 16 ACC Championships, more than any other ACC school and an unofficial 18 ACC regular season championships, plus four Atlantic Division titles.

Clemson teams have advanced to the College World Series 12 times, including two final four appearances.

Though Clemson has had more head-to-head success against South Carolina (193-146-2), the Gamecocks have done well as a program. They won their lone ACC Championship in 1971, two years before the ACC started hosting its tournament.  

They won two regular-season titles in the old Metro Conference (1987 and ’88) and then SEC regular-season championships in 2000, 2002 and 2011. South Carolina’s lone official SEC Championship came in 2004 when it won the tournament.

The Gamecocks, who also have won seven SEC East Division Championships, have had a lot of NCAA Tournament success. They have been to the CWS 11 times and won it twice in back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011 – one of only six schools to do so.

They also advanced to the championship series in 2012 and were national runners-up in 1975, 1977 and 2002 as well.

South Carolina is 32-20 all-time in CWS games and owns the NCAA Baseball Tournament record of 22 consecutive wins, including a record 12 straight wins in the CWS. And, Tiger fans might not want to read this part, the Gamecocks are 4-0 against Clemson in the CWS, eliminating the Tigers in 2002 and 2010.

And let’s be honest, that still stings at Clemson, which is kind of what this column is all about.

Granted, the Gamecocks have not done well the last several years, which is one reason why Clemson has grabbed back control of the series. But as I asked above, is that all about to change.

After having back-to-back horrible seasons in Columbia, South Carolina went and stole Kevin Schnall from Coastal Carolina to be its new head coach. And though Schnall had a lot of success as a player, assistant coach and head coach for the Chanticleers, he is not the only move the Gamecocks are making here.

In the four days since he was officially announced as the Gamecocks’ new skipper, South Carolina has not held back on what their intent is going forward with their baseball program. They plan to invest as many resources as they can to get back on top, through NIL, revenue sharing or whatever it takes.

While South Carolina is showing its new commitment to baseball, how will Clemson respond.

Let’s not forget the Tigers just completed their worst season in ACC play since 1957. Can Graham Neff and the administration at Clemson match what the Gamecocks plan to do?

It is no secret Clemson has struggled to support baseball, especially on the NIL front.

There is no doubt Clemson has a stellar head coach in Erik Bakich, and he has promised to get things fixed.

However, coaching can only go so far. You must have Jimmys and Joes too, and that is where the Tigers’ biggest question marks lie.

In this new era of college baseball, teams that have had the most success have used the NIL for their baseball rosters. Right now, it appears Clemson is not where it needs to be in this area, or it would not have lost players like Nate Savoie, Bryce Clavon and Talan Bell to the transfer portal.

Last year, the Tigers were unable to keep a promising player like TP Wentworth because of financials. It is getting harder and harder for Clemson to retain its big-time players, much less have enough funds to bring new ones in.

Now South Carolina—the program Clemson dislikes more than any other—is out there proclaiming its new-found commitment to its baseball program.

How will Clemson respond? And more importantly, can it?